Beyond Physical And Sexual Harm: Different Ways In Which Your Partner May Abuse You

When it comes to domestic abuse, many people focus on sexual and physical violence. However, your partner may abuse you without sexually assaulting you or harming you physically in any way. There are other forms of domestic abuse that include:

Emotional Abuse

Somebody is emotionally abusing you if he or she is using his or her words and actions to isolate, control or frighten you. It is also known as psychological abuse, and it can take different forms. For example, your partner may abuse you emotionally by:

• Saying humiliating things about you in public
• Restricting what you can or cannot do
• Keeping important information from you
• Acting as if you are beneath him or her
• Always yelling at you
• Hurting your pets or threatening do so

You get the idea; psychological abuse can take many different forms, but they all interfere with your emotions. Note that people consider different things as emotional abuse; however, an action is always an emotional abuse if it elicits negative emotions (such as anger, low self-esteem and sadness) from you.

Financial Abuse

Apart from abusing you emotionally, your partner can also abuse you financially. In this case, he or she uses money (or other properties with monetary values) to exploit or control you. As you might imagine, this may also take different forms such as:

• Putting pressure on you to sign financial documents (such as bank loans)
• Denying you money in order to force you into certain actions
• Directing you on how to manage your will
• Forcing you to sell some of your properties
• Taking your money without your consent

As you might imagine, financial abuse can make your life very miserable since you may not have the funds to settle normal bills, such as rent or even health services.

Neglect

You may not know it, but neglect is also a form of family abuse. Your partner is neglecting you if they don't provide for your basic needs. For example, he or she may be denying you:

• Money for health care
• Food
• Clothing
• Reasonable living environment
• Protection from adverse weather elements

If you suspect that your partner is abusing you in any way, then your first course of action to remove yourself from within his or her reach. For example, you can move out and stay with a relative or friend for a short while. Next, you should seek protection and redress from the authorities. A family lawyer may also help you to explore the legal options available to you. For more information, contact a lawyer in your area, like those at Aaron Law Offices PLLC.